


The Kittens of Parkside Terrace

by fractionallyfoxtrot



Category: Cabin Pressure
Genre: Crack, Everyone from MJN (and Herc) is a kitten, Gen, Kittens
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-29
Updated: 2013-01-29
Packaged: 2017-11-27 10:14:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/660798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fractionallyfoxtrot/pseuds/fractionallyfoxtrot
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The students of Parkside Terrace find and adopt some very interesting kittens.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Kittens of Parkside Terrace

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the [Kitten Fic](http://cabinpres-fic.dreamwidth.org/6625.html?thread=11429345#cmt11429345) prompt on the meme.

After fumbling with the handle, Lucas kicked open the front door to Parkside Terrace and stepped inside carrying a large box in his arms.

“You’ll never guess what we found,” he said loudly, crossing into the middle of the room.

“We don’t want it,” said Isabelle without looking up from her book.

“Why not?”

“Because nothing good ever comes from you bringing home a box.”

“Even if it’s kittens?” Logan asked, closing the front door behind him.

Isabelle looked up as the more rational of the twins came into the room to stand next to his brother. Logan’s hands were huddled against his chest, cradling something that couldn’t be seen. He pulled his hand back, stroking over the small head of a calico kitten. The kitten’s eyes were wide and curious as it peered at its new surroundings. Isabelle set her book down and got up to get a closer look. The kitten in Logan’s hands spotted her approach and leaned forward to meet her, putting itself in danger of toppling out of his hold.

They both caught him. The kitten licked Isabelle’s fingers appreciatively as she nudged him away from the edge.

“Where did you find him?”

“Them,” Logan corrected, canting his head toward the box.

Isabelle looked down at the box. Three more kittens were attempting to scale out of the box on their coffee table. Lucas scooped up the first one, a midnight black kitten with sleek fur, and set it down on the couch. It immediately sauntered over to the fluffy pillow Isabelle had brought down from her room. The kitten scaled the plush hill and set itself down right in the middle, after, of course, kneading the pillow to an acceptable level of comfortableness.

“Someone left them on the side of the road leading to the airfield, box and all,” Logan answered.

“Bastards,” Lucas muttered.

“It didn’t seem right to just leave them there,” Logan shrugged.

Isabelle nodded in agreement. She reached out to catch a white kitten just as it was about to leap from the top of the box.

“That appears to be the only girl of the bunch,” Logan pointed out.

Isabelle gently pet the kitten before she set it down on the couch; unlike the calico, the white kitten seemed uninterested in the show of affection.

Just like the black kitten, the white kitten moved directly to the large, fluffy pillow. She wasted no time climbing to the top. Despite the black kitten’s presence, she seemed determined to sit exactly where he was sitting. She paced around him a few times before simply climbing on top of him and turning a few times on his back. The black kitten sat resolute, unmoving through it all until she began to knead into him with her claws. He hissed and retreated from the pillow where Lucas scooped him up again and stroked soothingly over his back.

“That a girl,” Isabelle chuckled. “You show him who’s boss.”

The white kitten curled into a more comfortable position on the pillow. She purred for a moment as Isabelle scratched her back.

“It’s all right, Douglas,” Lucas cooed, “you can have the pillow from my bed.”

“You named him already?” Isabelle questioned.

“After Douglas Bader?” Logan guessed.

“He was the first pilot I could think of,” Lucas shrugged.

“You know, we haven’t even asked if we can keep them yet,” Logan said cautiously.

Lucas shrugged again, petting the kitten in his hands. With Lucas’ help, Douglas climbed onto his shoulders and curled around his neck while Lucas kept a supporting hand on him. He seemed to accept Lucas’ ministrations as long as he could do it on his terms.

Tommy and Lily came downstairs from the second floor. They both came to an abrupt halt when Tommy caught sight of the box on the coffee table.

“What did Lucas bring home this time?” Tommy asked.

Lily peered cautiously around Tommy as they approached the box. “Are those kittens?”

“That they are, Lils,” Lucas grinned. “A box of kittens, just for you.”

Lily rolled her eyes but the smile tugging at her lips betrayed her amusement.

Tommy plucked a storm grey kitten from the top of the box. He smiled as he held the kitten up, his smile only growing as the kitten purred under his touch.

“I didn’t know you liked cats so much, Tommy,” said Logan.

Tommy cradled the kitten in his arms as he took a seat on the couch. “He reminds me of the cat we had at home. Same coloring, same eyes, except ours was a big, fat cat. We called him Hercules and, no, the irony’s not lost on me,” he laughed. Tommy lifted the kitten, practically beaming when it mewed at him. “But you’re not big and fat, are you? No, you’re just a little thing, a little Herc.”

The kitten squirmed in Tommy’s hold so he set him down on the couch. Isabelle’s pillow must have been written about in all the kitten magazines because Herc made a beeline for it as soon as his paws touched the upholstery. He made his way onto the pillow, pausing when he saw that the white kitten was already seated on it. He stepped carefully around her, as if he were trying not to disturb her, and sat a short distance away. The pillow dipped and their tails touched; the white kitten glanced over at him before setting her head back down.

Isabelle pat a hand on the white kitten’s head. “That was much nicer than she treated Douglas,” she chuckled. “I wonder if she’s a little sweet on him.”

The white kitten gave a little hiss and batted Isabelle’s hand away, with her claws extended. Isabelle pulled her hand back, grimacing as she rubbed her fingers over the scratches.

“I think I’ll call her Carolyn. She reminds me of my great-aunt: regally commanding with a bit of a bite.” The kitten hissed again. “I said ‘ _a bit_ ,” she argued.

“I’m going to call this little guy Lucas,” Logan said, indicating the calico kitten in his hands. “He’s not exactly the brightest kitten in the box,” he laughed.

The kitten supported Logan’s observation by almost falling out of his hands again as Lily came forward to see him. Even as he was hauled back to safety, the kitten mewed excitedly, stretching himself towards Lily in order to help her pet him.

“Prat,” Lucas grumbled.

“Fine, how about Arthur?”

“Using my middle name still makes you a prat.”

“Probably,” Logan conceded, “but no one else knew that was your middle name until you told them.” A frown creased Lucas’ features, and seemingly Douglas’, as the others joined Logan in a laugh at Lucas’ expense. Logan tickled the bottom of the calico kitten’s chin. “Arthur sounds good, doesn’t it, Arthur?”

Arthur mewed in agreement, his whole body thrumming with his purrs.

“Hey, shouldn’t we feed them?” Isabelle asked the room. “I mean, you two found them on the side of the road. Who knows how long it’s been since their last meal.”

“Good idea, Isa,” said Tommy, scooping Herc up in his arms. “We should be able to scrounge something together until we can go to the shop for some proper food.”

“It should be fish,” Lucas chimed in, following Tommy to the kitchen. “Douglas likes fish.”

Isabelle rolled her eyes. “It’s a _cat_ , Lucas. We’re not going to trouble ourselves over the dietary preferences of a cat.”

Isabelle held out her hands to Carolyn. The kitten lifted her head and took a moment to consider Isabelle’s offer. She lifted herself onto her feet and climbed into Isabelle’s hands. She didn’t mew, she didn’t rub against her; she appeared to simply deign being carried into the kitchen by the young woman. Isabelle lifted her cautiously and went to join Tommy and Lucas in search of food. Logan trailed behind her with Arthur in his hands.

Lily sat down on the couch, not wanting to crowd the kitchen with any more cooks. A scratching noise drew her attention back to the box on the coffee table. Lily reached out and tipped it towards her. A small, orange kitten was still in the box, huddled by itself in the far corner. The box’s sudden incline caused it to lose its footing and slide forward. Lily caught it in her hand before it crashed into the side of the box. She lifted the kitten out of the box and sat back on the couch, settling the orange kitten in her lap.

“They forgot about you in there, didn’t they?” she said softly.

Lily stroked her hand over the kitten’s head. He seemed stiff, tense, perhaps due to his sudden change in surroundings. He looked up warily at Lily as she ran her hand over his head and down his back.

Lily could easily hear Isabelle from the kitchen, where she and Lucas were involved in yet another argument.

“Where do you expect all these cats to sleep, Lucas?”

“Wherever you deem it acceptable for them to sleep, Isabelle,” Lucas answered loudly. “Have you considered the attic? I’m sure they’ll _love_ it up there.”

The orange kitten seemed to shrink away from Lucas’ suggestion although he was probably pulling back more from his volume. Lily curled her fingers under the kitten’s chin, smiling down at him warmly.

“Don’t worry,” she assured him. “No one’s going in the attic. We’ll find you somewhere warm to sleep and something good to eat. Do you like potatoes, Martin?”

Lily scratched him lightly under his chin. It must have felt good because Martin’s tension started to melt away. He relaxed into Lily’s touch, letting her pull him back so she could scratch his chest. Martin’s soft purr mingled with the buzz of chatter coming from the kitchen. He rubbed his head against Lily appreciatively and settled in for his first night in Parkside Terrace.

**Author's Note:**

> A lovely artist anon on the meme drew the kitten!Carolyn's conquering of both the pillow and kitten!Douglas. [It's here for your viewing pleasure](http://s1323.beta.photobucket.com/user/ArtisticFerret/media/DouglasandCarolyn_zpsc95b23b8.jpg.html).


End file.
